Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - January 10, 2002

In Germany, it was announced that the overwhelming majority of the German people were against the war with Iraq, calling the United States a dictator and blaming the US's war policy for the absence of war in the United States, and saying that if the United States had tasted the bitterness of war like Europe, it would not have acted in this way...

Full text of the daily:

Hans Blix, the chief inspector of the [United Nations] weapons, and [Mohammed] ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, yesterday gave the Security Council the initial report of the inspection of Iraq and announced in an interview that after two months of inspection, no trace of weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq, but they called the 12,000-page report of Iraq incomplete and said that Iraq was refusing to fully introduce its weapons of mass destruction scientists. They are scheduled to give the final report in a few days. They said that a few months would be needed to complete the work.

Following the broadcast of this interview, it was announced in Germany that the overwhelming majority of the German people were against the war with Iraq and called America a dictator and attributed America's war-mongering policy to the absence of war in America, and said that if America had tasted the bitterness of war like Europe, it would not have acted in this way.

In Turkey, the military warned the newly formed Justice and Development Party government about opposing secular and national policies, and the alarm bells were raised that the honeymoon of the government of Abdullah Gul, [Prime Minister], would be overthrown; despite his conservative measures and repeated distancing from Islamic ideas and expressing a preference for the West and liberalism!

Finally, it was announced that 210,000 people had been nominated for city and village councils, which is 35 percent less than the previous period.

In Israel, [Ariel] Sharon, [Prime Minister], has encountered problems in his election campaign; The Labor Party has raised the issue of his and his two sons’ financial corruption in the last election, and his defense has been half-hearted due to non-compliance with advertising laws. Opinion polls suggest that the Likud Party, which was predicted to win many seats, will have fewer. In addition, the Supreme Court has heard the appeal of two Arab candidates who were denied the right to vote and recognized them as legitimate.

I went to Friday prayers [at Tehran University]. I gave a sermon on patience and a sermon on American adventures; I exposed America’s weaknesses and its many contradictions. Many Friday prayers have seen marches and petitions against Hayat-e-No [edited by Mr. Seyyed Hadi Khamenei] for publishing an article and a caricature insulting Imam Khomeini. In Qom, Mr. Khatami [the President] has also been insulted and warned. They suggested that next Sunday, classes [at the seminary] and markets be closed. Israel Radio said that the Hayat-e-No newspaper had been banned, but this news has not been confirmed in Iran.

The cold in Europe has killed more than 500 people and the Baltic Sea has frozen over, so that it can only be crossed on foot. A Fokker plane with 40 passengers has disappeared over the Amazon jungle. North Korea has officially announced in a statement that it has withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and a wide reaction has been expressed in many important countries of the world.